. . . [this recording of Rachmaninov favorites] is more than the feel-good piano album of the year. Much of this is due to Claudio Abbado, who has been a searching interpreter of Russian music for several decades: he brings out the composer's Romantic fervor not only with persuasive melodic shaping but with a complete mastery of pacing, elastic rhythm, and orchestral color . . .

Concert Review /
Russel Platt,
New Yorker / 05. October 2011

She tackles the popular "Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No 2" with an ease that betrays her deep familiarity with the material . . . [it's the confident way she deals with the challenging "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini"] that most impresses here . . . It's all handled with industrious grace by Wang.

Record Review /
Andy Gill,
Independent (London) / 11. March 2011

[Rachmaninoff¿s Second Piano Concerto] here sounds surprisingly poised and clear. There is none of the wretched excess of emotion and wallowing indulgence that the dramatically grandiose themes seem to invite. Instead, Wang and Abbado offer a well-balanced reading that gives the concerto clean, almost neoclassical lines . . . The Mahler Chamber Orchestra sounds rich and full, and its brass section cuts through the lush strings with bright and plangent tones. Wang's pianism is large-scale, and this very fine recording helps bring out the balance between solo instrument and orchestra . . . The finale is never less than thrilling . . . Wang's fine combination of bravado and restraint serves the concerto.

Record Review /
Mark J. Estren,
Washington Post / 19. March 2011

. . . performances are intelligent, stylish, and have the emotional poise of the composer's own recordings. Often, Wang begins her musical arcs quietly, the better to build a long, gratifying line of thought.

. . . what you hear is independent of time . . . Anchored in the regal security of Claudio Abbado's Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Yuja makes the individual notes cascade like pearls, stretches the space between them just at the edge of what is perceptible, and "sings" with a legato that's the domain of only masters of lieder . . . [the most famous variation XVIII] is dreamy and meltingly lyrical, yet kept within the discipline and good taste that¿s the hallmark of both conductor and pianist . . . [Piano Concerto no. 2]: Her arpeggios are full and strong. Abbado and the orchestra are leaders, followers -- partners in music-making of the highest order . . . there is balance here and the right sound between excess and holding back too much.

. . . both these performances shed fresh light on two of Rachmaninov's best-known pieces . . . a playful and scintillating version of the "Paganini Rhapsody", time allowed for placing details meaningfully and to vividly characterise each of Rachmaninov's commentaries on the so-familiar Paganini tune . . . a very engaging performance notable for not rushing the music but for relishing its colours and modulations, with Yuja Wang very much part of the whole but playing with plenty of personality, too. Abbado ensures that Rachmaninov's scoring seems new-minted with some enthusiastic and polished playing. This poetic and vibrant account is very welcome . . . [Piano Concerto]: a flowing interpretation free from wallowing and sentimentality but aflame with inner passion . . . Wang's subtlety is welcome, so too her directness, underpinned by a flawless technique, Abbado and his musicians caught up in a flexible and lively performance free from ennui . . . in the slower music Rachmaninov's soul is revealed without mawkishness, the central Adagio given as an expressive reverie, rather confidentially, yet with heart-beating fluctuations. The finale, its melodic contours beautifully moulded, also enjoys some exciting impetus . . . some wonderfully crisp playing from Yuja Wang . . .

Record Review /
Colin Anderson,
Classicalsource.com / 23. March 2011

[The recording] originally meets the eye, since the artists' unsentimental but plastic approach infuses a generously sympathetic hue to the project . . . The expansive collaboration between Wang and Abbado permits a casual endearing look at each of the twenty-four variations . . . Wang and Abbado take the "Scherzando finale" at a delicious pace, exuberantly enjoying the playful and audacious figures as they move busily through a series of roller-coaster energies . . . [The "C Minor Concerto"] manages to avoid hyper-emotional clichés without sacrificing its innately lush melancholy [a] sober but passionate deliberation with which the principals execute the piece . . . Wang's impeccable technique and tonal beauty certainly aid in pouring this old wine into a new bottle . . . the spins and gyrations become quite beguiling, while Abbado injects his own potent impetus into the mix. A disarming lovely set of Rachmaninov works, beautifully played and gorgeously recorded courtesy of engineer Stephan Flock.

Record Review /
Gary Lemco,
Audiophile Audition / 19. April 2011

The young Chinese American virtuoso Yuja Wang has established her place as one of the most exciting pianists of our day with a series of formidable solo discs. Now comes her first release with orchestra ¿ a pairing of two of Rachmaninoff's most reliably alluring showpieces ¿ and the results are, if anything, even more remarkable. These are both splendid performances, full of vigor and bravura as well as a canny mixture of sentiment and clarity. Some credit has to go to conductor Claudio Abbado, who elicits warm and flexible playing from the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and coordinates the relations between orchestra and soloist beautifully. But Wang is the star, and she responds with her characteristic blend of elegance and depth. The virtuosic passages in both works emerge with dazzling precision and wit, made all the more impressive by Wang's deceptively offhand demeanor, while the more lyrically expansive sections ¿ particularly the great 17th variation of the rhapsody and the slow movement of the concerto ¿ come through in all their emotional fervor.

Yuja Wang is certainly grounded in Rachmaninoff . . . this young Chinese pianist has a very Russian soul.

Record Review /
Julie Amacher,
Minnesota Public Radio / 25. April 2011

She makes us hear this hoariest of Romantic war-horses afresh, as if with cleaned ears: the work emerges as almost classical, Mozartian even, in poise and architecture. There isn't an iota of indulgence or gratuitous emotion, yet neither is there any lack of force or genuine passion wherever required. Wang is aided by Abbado's masterly direction of the orchestra, and a crystal-clear recording which allows us to hear much usually-masked woodwind detail, and the detailed inner voices within Rachmaninov's keyboard writing. The storm of audience applause is well-merited. The "Paganini Rhapsody" is no less satisfying, both mesmerising and superbly controlled, with loving attention to detail . . . this new issue is quite special.

This petite 24-year-old turns out to be a powerhouse! Undaunted by the challenges of this repertoire, her articulate and precise style brings a freshness and wit to these pieces without compromising the emotional breadth of Rachmaninov's music. Her intelligent crafting of the variations turns the Rhapsody into a bonus concerto, but it's her superb skill and artistry which shines through. There's always room for a first class recording of even the most popular pieces ¿ and this is just that. The revealing Rhapsody deserves top billing, but the Second Piano Concerto has moments of exquisite tenderness.

Record Review /
Jane Jones,
Classic FM (London) / 04. May 2011

Every new release by this marvelously gifted pianist is eagerly anticipated . . . The technical demands of the Rhapsody (Variation 24 for example) hold no terrors for her, of course, and her trademark impetuosity, which she injects into the bravura variations, is thrilling. But, more importantly, she is also an artist with that unteachable ability to tug at the emotions without recourse to sentimentality, as her playing of the famous Variation 23 beautifully illustrates.

Record Review /
Jeremy Nicholas,
Gramophone (London) / 01. June 2011

Our hats are off to this stellar young pianist for reinvigorating two repertoire warhorses . . .

Record Review /
Amanda MacBlane,
Time Out (New York) / 11. December 2011

Our hats are off to this stellar young pianist for reinvigorating two repertoire warhorses, Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 and "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini".

Record Review /
Amanda MacBlane,
Time Out (New York) / 11. December 2011

Yuja Wang and Claudio Abbado − Say No More

Yuja Wang joins the legendary maestro on her first orchestral album

To the challenging Rachmaninov Piano Concerto no. 2, she adds the daunting Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. This, the composer’s last composition for piano and orchestra, is the keystone of his symphonic œuvre

Yuja Wang, Gramophone’s “Young Artist of the Year” 2009, hearkens to the no-holds-barred pianistic sensations of the 19th century

“Whereas many pianists try to dominate this set of variations, she worked with it. This approach simply gave more punch to the places in which the piano should jump out of the texture” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Insights

“Everything the piano can do"

Recording these piano concertos by Rachmaninov came as a surprise and delight to Yuja Wang, and was a choice spurred on by Claudio Abbado: “I'd worked with him before, but not in these concertos. He plays with very few soloists these days, so it was a particular honour - I'd happily have played anything he wanted me to play."

“I like really to grasp the flow of the Russian soul through Russian literature and understand the emotional ideals, and to touch on that during a live concert is quite difficult. In the Second Piano Concerto the big challenge is projecting myself: the writing is fairly transparent but the melody is overpowering, and cutting through the texture in order to be heard isn't easy. It's a challenge to bring out the harmonies, and the legatos are very special. At many points in this concerto, the piano is almost an accompaniment to the orchestra. The Mahler Chamber Orchestra were wonderful to work with: they listen to each other so well, and they're all really young, about my age. I think the excitement of the live concert is truly present in the recording."

The genesis of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2 is almost as legendary as the music itself. Severely depressed after his Symphony No. 1 had been panned at its premiere in 1897, the young Rachmaninov found himself unable to set pen to manuscript paper for two years. On the advice of his cousins, he consulted Dr. Nikolai Dahl, a specialist in neuropsychotherapy who used hypnosis to build up Rachmaninov's confidence towards beginning a new concerto that would be “excellent". The composer indeed emerged ready to set to work with renewed energy, sketching out the piece during visits to the Crimea and Italy in 1900; he gave the world premiere himself in Moscow on 9 November 1901. The piece's immediate acclaim duly established him as one of the most exciting composers of his day.

Yuja Wang has drawn considerable inspiration from Rachmaninov's own interpretation of the concerto, which is controlled and classical as others can be extrovert and passionate: “Instead of sounding very broad in what you might expect to be huge lyrical moments, his sound remains amazingly transparent," she says.

By the time Rachmaninov began his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini his fame was universal, but his life had changed radically. In 1917 he and his wife fled the Russian Revolution, travelling first to Sweden and then to the USA. In Russia he had pursued a vocation primarily as a composer; in the West, though, the need for income propelled him into an international career as a concert pianist. His time for composition was consequently reduced, but the works he did produce showed increasing sophistication and originality and the Rhapsody is no exception.

It dates from 1934 when Rachmaninov was living in Switzerland, near Lake Lucerne. The theme is from No. 24 from Paganini's Caprices for violin, a set of virtuoso variations so difficult that it contributed to Paganini's being associated in the public imagination with the devil himself. Rachmaninov used the theme as the basis for a series of twenty-four variations plus introduction and coda, ingeniously combining the format with that of a three-movement concerto.

The first movement is the substantial, dizzyingly varied section from the start to Variation 15. First, only the barest outline is heard; Paganini's theme comes into focus with the entry of the piano, which soon carries matters away into the fantastical skitterings of the first few variations. The “second subject" appears with the sixth, more reflective variation, and in the seventh Rachmaninov introduces the plainchant “Dies irae" - a reference that appears in many of his works almost as a signature motif.

After a concluding climax in Variation 15, the “slow movement" ensues, building through the expectant No. 16 and nocturnal perambulations of No. 17 to the work's most celebrated transformation of the Paganini melody in No. 18, progressing to a soaring grandeur on full orchestra. No. 19 plunges into a scherzo finale replete with wit, jazziness and a bedazzlement of virtuosity, though the “Dies irae" is never far away. Finally the music evaporates as if in a puff of smoke.

Yuja Wang is full of enthusiasm for this lithe and athletic work. “It's my favourite of the Rachmaninov works for piano and orchestra," she declares. “It's a red-hot work - it suits young people my age because it's so emotional. It's very cleverly written and shows all the different sides of Rachmaninov. There's so much variety in it, so many colours: I think that's where his genius lies, in the invention of all these characteristics that explore everything the piano can do."